Valentines
by nmbr1potterfan
Summary: The 5th years are doing a singing valentines fundraiser. But how will this simple event effect the rest of the school? Especially the 6th years? /REVEIW!/
1. The Flier

"You've got to be joking!" Harry laughed at the poster.

"What is it?" Ron asked coming over to stand next to him.

"Look at this" Harry instructed, and pointed to the white flier on their common room post board.

"This Friday, February 14th, the 5th year class is doing a Singing Valentines fundraiser. 1 sickle to have someone sung too, and 2 sickles for someone to be sung to and given a present!" Ron read aloud.

Hermione had been sitting in a velvet chair reading her charms book before she came up behind them to take a look at the flier.

"Oh, right, Lavender was telling me about that!"

Ron turned to give her a doubtful look. "Lavender? She's in our class Hermione, this is being put on by the 5th years."

"I know that Ronald! But lavender takes chorus and they asked some of the 6th years to help with the singing and she said she'd love too. I think we all know how much she fancies showing off her voice..." Hermione explained with a smile.

Harry laughed knowingly.

"At least _she_ can sing!" Ron joked to Hermione.

"Hey!" she gasped with mock hurt, holding one hand to her chest and raising her eyebrows.

"Aw, I'm just messing with you 'mione" he said while shoving her shoulder.

"Good" she laughed while returning the shove, and walked back to her chair with a sly little grin on her face.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"How romantic!" Pansy squealed to her friend Zylia

"I know!" Zylia gushed back.

The rest of their conversation reduced into hushed whispers and giggles, which became more and more irritating to the surrounding Slytherin population.

"Ok fine, I'll take the bait, what is so exciting Pansy?" Blaise said sarcastically while rolling his eyes.

"Look at this flier!" Pansy said perkily and snatched it off the wall to show to Blaise.

"You've got to be kidding me. You're getting all worked up over this?"

"I'm part French, I can't help it if I like a little romance" Pansy replied, taking the piece of paper back from Blaise.

"What sappy love scheme is Dumbledore having us do now?" Draco drawled while taking the paper from Pansy. He quickly scanned it over and laughed. "Singing Valentines? How pathetic!"

Pansy seemed hurt by his comment and quickly snatched the paper back.

"I think it's a good idea" Zylia reassured her seemed to give Pansy her confidence back.

"I for one, would love to have someone send me a singing valentine" Pansy said meaningfully in Draco's direction, although he had already gone back to reading his copy of the _Daily Prophet_.

"Go ahead. Go be publicly humiliated in front of everyone, if that's what you want. Personally, I would hex anyone who even tried to get some lowlife to sing to me" Blaise scoffed and went back to his essay.

"Uh! Boys!" Pansy complained, and marched out of the common room with Zylia right behind her.


	2. Working at the Stand

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or anything from the novels associated with him. The idea is mine though, like plot and stuff.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Outside the Grand Hall the 5th years had set up a fancily decorated table with pink and red hearts all over it with a large "Singing Valentines!" banner floating above them. There was always two kids sitting there after classes had ended for the day and they took hourly shifts as to who should manage the booth. At the moment, it was left in the hands of Collin Crevey and Devin Doyle.

"I'm so excited!" Collin exclaimed "Think of the looks on people's faces when they get one of these! I can't even imagine a more picture perfect day!"

"Right! I think it'll be great inspiration for my next painting!" Devin replied with equal enthusiasm.

The two continued to talk about their art forms for a long time, and only stopped when they saw someone coming towards them.

"Look! A customer! Shh! Shh! He's coming!" Collin whispered to his friend and collected himself into a business like manor.

"Hello there, how may we help you?" He asked the red headed boy he immediately recognized as Harry Potter's friend. Although he couldn't remember his name…

"Er, ya, I wanted to get a valentine for someone" The boy replied looking around him to see if anyone was watching him, which, no one was, because no one was there. It was about 8:00 and the sun had set a while ago, which gave the hall a darkened look.

"Sure, would you like only a song, or a gift as well?" Devin asked

"What are the gifts?" The red-head asked.

"Either a box of chocolates, a rose, or both." Devin replied while checking his list.

"I'll go with the box of chocolates"

"Alright, that'll be two sickles please"

The boy dug into his pocket and removed a handful of small items, out of which he pulled out two sickles, placed them on the stand, and returned the rest of the miscellaneous items to his pocket.

"And to whom is this valentine going to?" Collin questioned.

"Hermione Granger" The boy replied looking embarrassed.

Devin wrote it down on a piece of paper in front of him that charted who sent what to who.

"Would you like it to be anonymous or would you like us to tell her it was you?" Devin asked, and looked up at him.

"Oh, er, you can tell her it was me" The red-head replied.

"Ok" the two 5th years smiled "could you please write your name here and select the song you would like sung to her?"

"Sure" He replied and took the paper Collin was handing him and wrote his name on the indicated line.

Collin widened his eyes in remembrance and his mouth formed a little "ohhh". Ron Weasley! That's what his name was!

After a little while, Ron handed the paper back to Collin with a scarlet complexion and then hastily shoved his hands back in his pockets again. He looked like he would have rather been any where in the world but there at the moment.

"So is that all you need?" the boys asked uncertainly.

"Yep! Thank you for supporting the 5th year class and I hope you have a wonderful valentine's day!" Collin responded with a cheery smile.

"Ya, you too" Ron muttered as he sauntered off at a much faster pace then normal, making sure to check both ways to see if anyone had seen him. Once he had turned the corner out of sight the two younger boys thought it safe to talk again.

"What song did he ask for?" Devin questioned

"Love Story" Collin replied, consulting the sheet in front of him. "I've never heard of it. Must be muggle or something"

"Muggles are so lame" Devin frowned "Their pictures don't even move!"

"I know right! The injustice!"

And they were off again, so easily engaged in the world of textures, colors, and lighting.

"I personally like capturing a scene from the right angle" Collin was explaining with his hands "It gives the image much more dimension"

"Ya, you've got a point mate, although the ominous, bird's eye view is really fun to draw!" Devin agreed.

"Excuse me!?" A shrill voice ordered from beside them, and the two boys nearly jumped out of their seats.

They looked over to see a tall, intimidating girl standing in front of their stand with an angry snarl on her face.

"I want to get a singing valentine. Here's the sickles, now give me the paper!" She demanded and Collin quickly scrambled around to find the parchment. Once he had located it he hastily handed it to her.

"Quill?!" she shrieked while holding out a manicured hand expectantly, the other on her hip.

Devin quickly offered up his own, and the girl snatched it from him before he could fully place it in her hand.

She paced in front of the stand a bit while reading the paper, trying to decide the best song. The 5th years just sat there watching her pace with a scared look on their face, as if she'd suddenly attack them both at any moment.

When the girl had finally decided she put the parchment against the opposite wall and wrote all the required information down. When she was finished she walked back to the table and slammed the materials onto it. The table shook violently and the boys jumped as they tried to stop everything from flying off the table. But when she didn't back away from the stand they warily looked up to find the girl staring at them with a malicious, soul piercing glare.

"Listen here, and listen good. I want this valentine to be anonymous, you hear? And if I ever find out that either of you retched beings blabbed…oh, Oh you'd wish you'd never been born!" She snarled at them as they slid father and father down in their seats, which only drew her closer to them "Are we understood?"

The boys quickly nodded their heads, for they had lost use of their voices in freight.

"Good" She barked, and swiftly spun around and strutted out of the hall.

Slowly, the 5th years began to dislodge themselves from under the table, not saying a word. When they were completely upright, they just sat there starring at the place she had exited until Collin finally spoke.

"You think she really means it?" he asked unconfidently.

"I reckon she does. I wouldn't want to cross her, that's for sure" Devin shakily replied while brushing his brown hair out of his face.

"You'd have to take her picture in the dungeons on a still night in order to capture all that hate" Collin commented, his face still holding the shocked expression.

"Right, with a torch off to her left side in order to fully extenuate the evil glare in her eyes"

"Mmm but it'd have to be raised so that she had shadows under her eyes too"

"You know, in a twisted way I'm kind of inspired by this fear. I think I'll make her my next painting. What was her name?" Devin asked Collin.

Collin gingerly picked up the paper that had been slammed before them.

"Pansy Parkinson" he replied. And then quickly put the paper down so that he wouldn't know who it is that she sent her valentine too. He definatly did NOT want her to go after him, and so to avoid the situation altogether, he had decided against looking at the recipient. Devin seemed to agree, for he had turned his head when Collin lifted the paper.

"Pansy, shame, that's a flower isn't it? And she was far from anything bright and cheery. What about Pain-sy?" Devin inquired.

"Or just Pain. You could work that"

"You're right, It would be a challenge to capture all the pain she inflicts upon others, but I think I'm up for that!"

"Right, go with a lot of red-based shades too"

"Exactly what I was thinking!"

And they were off.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

A/N: Is it living up to expectations??? Thanks to all my reveiwers so far, i love getting them!


	3. Another Day Closer

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Everyone please sit down!" Proffessor Flitwick, announced, and smiled a little to himself as he watched the students obey, once again enjoying the authority of being their class advisor.

"As I'm sure we all know, we will be hosting the singing valentines fundraiser this Friday" He continued, " And in order for this to happen, you all have to be able to sing"

A couple students shifted uncomfortably in their seats while others gave their friends incredulous looks. The entire Slytherin fourth of the population began muttering to each other in low sarcastic tones. Flitwick glanced over the chorus room from his perch atop a piano bench before clapping his hands twice for attention once more.

"And that is why I have asked Mr. Lawrence to take time to help us today" he gestured to the man behind him of about equal height, with black hair slicked off to one side. His attitude and facial structure always reminded the students of Bach, especially the way he would pace the room with his head held up slightly, like he was doing now.

Mr. Lawrence scanned the students before him with a dissatisfied look. He couldn't believe he'd agreed to this, he had so many better things to do with his Wednesday afternoons, and from the look of it, so did the 5th years.

"Alright class, lets have a show of hands, who's in chorus?" He addressed the congregation.

About five scattered hands lifted half-heartedly above the mass. This was going to be a _long_ day.

"Alright then, everyone please stand!" He demanded as he paced over to his desk. "Oh and I need 6 volunteers"

No one moved an inch from their designated riser.

"Oh come now! I'm not going to make you sing! I just want you to hand out music sheets!" He said exasperatedly as he rummaged through his perfectly organized filing cabinet.

A couple Hufflepuffs stumbled up after a little bit and Mr. Lawrence began retrieving enormous mounds of papers from the drawer and handing them to the scrawny individuals to pass out. One girl's knees immediately buckled from the weight and would have collapsed into a mountain of parchment had a bulky boy not stabilized her and taken most of the pile himself.

Once all the papers had been passed out, Mr. Lawrence tapped his instructing wand on the top of a black, metal stand until silence flooded the area once again.

"Ok now everyone please take out the song 'My Girl', we'll start with that one."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The ubiquitous trio was once again in the Gryffindor Common room, bent uncomfortably over their two-foot essays.

After a little while Hermione sighed and flopped backwards into her chair. She lazily threw her quill onto the table then brought her arms over her head in a stretch.

"You've got to be kidding me! You're done already?!" Ron said in disbelief.

Hermione laughed a little.

"Ya, but man am I tired!"

"Oh you poor thing, we feel _so_ sorry for you" Harry smiled with his sarcasm and turned back to his half-finished essay.

Ron peeked over at Harry's parchment and was disappointed to realize that Harry had about twice as much written as him.

"Oh shut it Harry, at least you're close!"

Hermione and Harry looked over to see Ron's pathetic first paragraph and then gave each other a look which made them giggle.

"It's not funny…" Ron said grumply.

"Here, let me read what you've written so far" Hermione offered.

She took the paper and read to herself:

_Unicorns can be used for many magical potions. Their hair can be used in Vera Serum, while their hooves can be used in broom stick polish for extra lift. Oh and you can use it's blood in the life preserving potion, but that's not exactly a good idea, since you'll be cursed forever and end up like a creepy person who roams around in the woods in a cloak! On a happier note, unicorn spit can be used for beauty cream. Which I sincerely think more people should use._

Hermione looked up at Ron who was eagerly waiting for her opinion.

"Uh, it was good, but you keep getting off track. Why don't you try talking about the side effects using unicorn products as well so that you have more to say in your body paragraphs. Oh and don't talk like you're writing to Harry or I, make it more official sounding, like Dumbledore is going to grade it."

"Aw, thanks Hermione!" Ron exclaimed and looked at her with awe, which made Hermione giggle.

"Don't mention it" She replied and sat back in her chair again and closed her eyes.

Just then, the portrait door opened and a massive group of 3rd year girls came whispering and laughing in. As they turned and saw the Ron, Hermione, and Harry they immediately started shushing each other and sneaking glances at the boys. Once they reached the stair case they ran up it and started laughing to each other hysterically.

The trio just watched them go with a weird look then started to laugh.

Harry shook his head while smiling.

"I wish 3rd years didn't exist"

"I hear you on that one" Ron agreed.

Hermione was still laughing to hard to respond. But she regained herself for a moment.

"I think it's cute! You guys have your own little fan clubs!" She managed to say before cracking up again.

The boys pseudo-glared at her as they attempted to focus on their papers.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BE-

I slammed my hand down on the alarm.

I groaned in dissatisfaction as I realized I actually had to get up today.

"Dude, you _have_ to get a different alarm," The boy in the next bed groaned as he attempted to sit up. "that thing is so bloody annoying"

"Hey, take it up with my mom." I responded groggily and pushed aside the covers.

I tensed as my feet hit the cold floor and then rubbed my scruffy face with my hands. I stood and walked around my bed to find my friend had fallen asleep again in his sitting position. I smirked with the idea that had suddenly come to mind. Being as quiet as possible I crept up to him and clapped as loud as I could in front of his face before ripping off his covers.

"Blais! What the hell!" Draco yelled at me as he jumped and curled up with the sudden cold.

I laughed and walked toward the bathroom.

"Your welcome" I smiled and made a theatrical bow before closing the door.

I washed, shaved, and brushed my teeth before eventually exiting.

"Finally!" Draco said exasperatedly, "I swear, you're such a girl"

"Look who's talking! At least I don't pluck my eyebrows…"

"Don't be an idiot, it's just to make sure I don't get a uni-brow!"

"Ya, whatever, you keep telling yourself that dude."

"Must I remind you that you apply lip balm every night?"

"Don't even go there! You know I get bad chapped lips!"

Draco laughed "Ya, Ok" he said disbelievingly before closing the door, satisfied that he'd gotten the last say.

"Stupid prat" I muttered to myself as I went to get changed.

I put on the usual uniform and then took a look at myself in the full length mirror on the door. I shook my head from side to side to fix my hair and it ended up brilliantly messy.

"Bloody hell Draco! Move a little slower would you?!" I yelled toward the bathroom door.

He emerged a little while later rubbing his head with a towel.

"Finally! I swear, you're such a girl" I mimicked him.

"Oh shut up"

Draco got dressed in his uniform as well and was about to take a comb to his hair when I stopped him.

"I swear, If you do that stupid ass slicked back thing with you're hair again, I'll disown you."

"How else would I do my hair?"

"Just shake it around"

He just stared at me.

"I'm not kidding, try it."

He was still giving me a weird look but at least he was putting the comb down. He shook his head kind of awkwardly but it did the trick.

"There you go!" I said while moving him to the mirror.

"You've got to be kidding, no way am I going out there looking so disheveled." He said and went to go grab his comb again.

"No! Dude, come on just try it! Give it a chance! Just a day?" I begged him.

"Blais, I look like an idiot."

"There's one way to find out!"

"How?"

"Let's go to breakfast and see how the chicks react"

"…"

"If they hate it you can come back and fix it, I promise"

"Fine."

Draco slammed the comb back onto the table reluctantly.

"You're lucky you're my friend Zabini"

"Come on lets go, I'm strarving"

Draco and I walked into the common room and then out into the dungeons. As we started to walk through the hall that led to the Great Hall a sqeaky voice stopped us.

"Hi there! Would you like to buy a singing valentine?"

We both stopped in our tracks and turned our heads simultaneously to the side to look at the speaker.

A bubbly little 5th year Hufflepuff girl smiled happily at us from behind a heinously pink decorated booth, awaiting our response.

"And what on earth are those?" I snarled at her.

"It's where we go and sing to someone and possibly give them a gift. It's _very_ romantic!" She replied excitedly.

"Uh, ya, pass." I said and started to walk again but I noticed that I didn't hear Draco's footsteps behind me and looked back for him.

He was still standing in front of the booth with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Draco?"

"Hey, Blais, why don't you go in without me? I'll be in in a second ok?"

"Are you mental?!"

"Probably, but go on ahead."

I must have been making a funny face at him because he laughed a little before turning to the girl.

Not wanting to go near that booth again I slowly backed away and turned into the Great Hall. Once inside the smell of bacon overwhelmed me and I could practically feel my eyes dilating as I lumber over to the Slytherin table in a trance and took my seat next to Pansy. I scanned the table and quickly targeted the bacon platter and pulled the entire thing over to me and used it as a plate.

Pansy turned to me with a disgusted look.

"Honestly Zabini, could you show a little decency?"

I just smiled widely at her, which gave her a great view of my half-chewed meat as well as the whole ones which were blantantly sticking out of my mouth.

"Aw, gross!" She squealed and scooted further away from me. Which just made me laugh and spray bits at her.

"Eeeewwwww!" she shrieked as she used her napkin to wipe them off herself. "I seriously have no idea how girls find you attractive."

I just shrugged and picked up two more pieces to cram into my mouth as if trying to find my maximum food capacity.

Once Pansy had rid herself of the food particles she turned back to her own meal.

"Hey, Blais can you move over a bit?" I heard Draco ask behind me.

I nodded since talking was kind of out of the question and he sat between me and Pansy, who looked extremely relieved.

"What took you?" she asked him.

"Oh, those valentine freaks stopped me" He said exasperatedly, but only I knew that this was a lie. Not that I could tell Pansy if I wanted to, this bacon was just so damn good!

"Oh, ya, they're a little pushy" She sympathized. "Hey, did you do something different with your hair?"

Draco looked a little embarrassed.

"It was Blais' idea…"

"Well it looks really good!" Pansy exclaimed and continued to check his new style out.

Draco laughed a little while shakily scooping eggs onto his plate.

"Don't lie Pansy"

"I'm not! Hey Zylia!" She nudged her friend in the ribs and Zylia flinched with the pain. "Doesn't Draco's hair look nice?"

Zylia's eyes widened as she looked at Draco.

"Uh, ya, he looks nice" she mumbled and looked away embarrassedly.

I bumped Draco with my shoulder and gave him the 'I told you' look. We both looked around and noticed that Draco had attracted most of the female population with his entrance and they were still staring at him. The girls at the Ravenclaw table across from them they were literally turned around in their seats gawking. I looked a table over and saw Granger and the girl Weasely steal a glance as well and I pointed it out to Draco who made a disgusted face, but not to the extreme I would've thought.

"My stunning looks must be too much for them" Draco smirked after observing the room.

Pansy slapped his arm "Don't be so arrogant! Prat…"

Draco laughed and went back to his food.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

A/N: Hermione's POV

"Hey Ron, Hey Harry" She addressed the two before sitting down across from them and next to Ginny.

"Hey Hermione" They replied.

The plate in front of her just happened to be French Toast, her all-time favorite, and she picked a few pieces off of the stack and then scanned the table for the syrup.

"Did you hear that Dean is planning on getting Lavender a singing valentine?" Ginny informed them with a smirk.

"What? Dean? You've got to be kidding." Ron practically yelled, which caused him to choke on his eggs and start coughing loudly. After a couple pats on the back from Harry, Ron eventually recovered. He took a sip of pumpkin juice to sooth his throat before Ginny responded.

"Ya, apparently he really fancies her, and she's been going on and on about how much she wants someone to send her one." Ginny replied.

They all looked down the table to see the two sitting across from each other talking. Lavender proceeded to flip her hair in a flirtatious way, and Dean happily flirted back.

"Well wouldn't you know." Harry said before turning his head back to the others again.

"Funny, someone told me he was gay" Ron stated before turning back to his meal.

"What? Who told you that?" Hermione asked.

"I don't remember, but it's been going around since 4th year." Ron replied.

"Oh goodness Ron, you're such a gossip!" Hermione teased him, and he smiled weakly.

The four of them continued to talk about classes and how sleep deprived they all were from staying up late doing homework assignments and projects.

"Three in the morning." Harry was saying "THREE in the freaking morning! I was seriously considering killing Snape. Giving us a bloody essay that long…"

"Tell me about it! I just gave up at 1, I still have a bunch to finish this morning." Ron complained.

As the two boys were griping to each other, Ginny began to poke Hermione in the side.

"Ow! What?" Hermione asked her, slightly annoyed.

"Shh!" Ginny silenced her, "Look"

Hermione looked down beside her and saw Ginny's hand pointing to a place by the door. Hermione then looked up and saw the back of Draco Malfoy's head going to his seat. She scowled and gave Ginny a look as if she had seriously gone mental.

"No really, Look!" Ginny insisted and Hermione looked up at Malfoy again.

He had just turned the corner and Hermione could now see his face. Her jaw went completely lax.

"Who is that, and where did Draco Malfoy go?" Hermione whispered to Ginny, though still looking at Malfoy across the room.

His hair was down for a change, and swished elegantly off to the side while it still retained an odd messy look, which just made it even better. It relaxed his features, and brightened up his appearance, rather then the tight, pulled back sternness that had been there before. But above that it was the eyes that killed her. His hair now framed them perfectly and brought out the intense gorgeousness of their bright bluish-gray like she had never seen before.

Ginny smiled at her. "I told you."

Ginny's smile began to falter the longer Hermione gawked.

"Uh, Hermione, it _is_ Malfoy you're looking at, remember?"

"Oh gosh, ya of coarse, ew, gross, what was I thinking!" Hermione flustered and looked back down at her plate.

"You know Ginny, I should probably be catching up on the History reading, I'll see you later." She said as she quickly got up and made her way to the door. As hard as she tried not too look she couldn't help but steal one more glance in Malfoy's direction.

'_I'm only looking at him because he's cute. There's no law against that. I mean, it's not like I fancy him, seriously. I hate him. I really do. Hate, hate, hate, hate. A very cute hate, but hate none the less.'_ She thought to herself as she speed walked through the hall.

"Hello There! Would you like to buy a singing valentine?" A small Hufflepuff girl asked her.

Hermione stopped right in front of the booth and stared at the girl for a good 3 minutes before finally saying, " As a matter of fact, I do".

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Ah, Harry my boy!" Professor Slughorn exclaimed as he raised his arm at Harry in the hall.

"Hello Professor." Harry replied politely while walking toward him.

"How've you been?" Slughorn asked conversationally.

"Great"

"Good to hear, good to hear. So I'm going to be hosting a Valentine's Day party tomorrow evening for the Slug Club in the astronomy tower at about 8." Slughorn said, looking at him expectantly.

'Oh, sure professor, I'll be there!" Harry replied to satisfaction.

"Fantastic! Oh, and would you mind running the message along to Hermione as well?"

"Sure thing!"

"Atta boy! I'll catch you later then Harry!" Slughorn said as he backed away.

"Later!" Harry replied as he too backed up and started walking down the hall again.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**A/N: hey guys! I hope you consider this one longer! I was really trying to make it so. Please review again! I love reviews =) Plus they will motivate me to write more, so the more reviews, the faster I'll write!**


	4. Valentine's Morning

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot, Harry Potter is completely JKs, although if Tom Felton wants to come running into my arms, that is fine with me =)

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

It was finally Friday and the students of Hogwarts were beginning to arise and make their way down to the Great Hall. Hermione finished applying the finishing touches to her make-up before walking down the staircase to Ginny's room. She knocked politely and received a small "One second!" from Ginny. Once she emerged from the room the two of them chatted about how tired they were and whatnot until they met up with the boys in the common room. At the sight of them the two boys smiled wearily before lethargically arising from their chairs. Then all four of the talked about how exhausted they were from their various late night assignments as they made their way to the Great hall for breakfast.

"Hey the booth is gone." Ginny observed, as they walked down the marble stair case.

"Ya, I think they're giving them out today right? It's the 14th I think." Ron reasoned.

"Oh, why yes it is! I completely forgot! Happy Valentine's Day guys!" Hermione wished them all.

"Hermione, forget something? That's practically unheard of! Mark the calendars!" Ron teased and Hermione playfully hit him on the arm.

"Oh shut up."

They found their usual seats at their table and began to scoop food onto their plates. Silence fell among them, not an awkward silence, but the kind that only friends can share since they don't feel obliged to fill it. After a little while though Ron began to look worried.

"Something wrong?" Harry asked him.

"Er, do you think they're going to sing to people in here?" Ron asked Harry in a quiet voice so that the girls wouldn't hear him.

"Oh, I don't think they will. That'd be a bit embarrassing for the poor bloke who sent one. Nah, I reckon they'll do them in classes or in the halls or something."

Ron sighed in relief, which was an egregious mistake since Harry was immediately intrigued.

"Send someone a love note there Ron?" Harry pried.

"Shh!" Ron shushed him and eyed all around them, but no one was paying attention.

"Well?" Harry whispered to him with a playful smirk.

"I'll tell you later." Ron muttered, not even looking at him.

"Oh, come on, no one's even listening!"

"Not, now!"

"What if you wrote it down? I'd incinerate it right after I swear."

"Harry!"

"Fine, fine…. Just a hint?"

Ron just glared at him.

"Alright, alright! Calm down mate!" Harry said with his hands up in a truce. "But if you don't tell me later I'll hex you."

Ron rolled his eyes and quickly looked away.

"What were you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing." Ron blurted with a panicked look.

Hermione looked at him funny and then at Harry who just smiled, but decided it was probably some guy thing she didn't care to know about and struck up a conversation with the girl next to her about the homework that was assigned last night. When breakfast was over Hermione bid adieu to her friends before picking up her bag and setting off for the library.

She was turning the last corner when there was a loud 'BAZOO!!!!' that startled her so much she flew backwards into someone. A confetti bomb burst above them and they were showered with little plastic hearts.

"Bloody hell!" Said the stranger who had caught her and he trust her off him and into a standing position. She turned around to see Draco Malfoy spitting out hearts and brushing them off himself as she herself was trying to get them out of her hair. The double negative situation had her pissed.

"Don't you ever bloody touch me again Malfoy!" She snarled.

"You think I enjoyed that Granger?!" He bit back while shaking his shirt out.

Right then, a 5th year popped up between them and announced:

"Hermione Granger! We are happy to inform you that Ronald Weasley has given you a valentine!"

"He wh-?!" She began to say but was cut off by a chorus of 5th years singing a love song to her.

She looked around embarrassedly and noticed that a crowd was forming from people coming to see the first singing valentine. At that point all she could do was smile, wave and rid herself of confetti as the boys laughed and girls smiled lovingly, secretly hoping that they would get one.

Hermione sighed in relief when they stopped after only a couple verses. When they were done, one boy came up to her and presented her with a box of chocolates.

"Happy Valentines Day!" He said with a wink before they all left to find their next victim.

The crowd began to disperse and Hermione tried to nonchalantly back into the library.

"Next time you get some love joke, make sure I'm not around, would you Granger?" Malfoy called after her before strutting off with his clan, muttering something to them about needing a shower now.

She was already in the library and saw no benefit to yelling after them so she just continued on to a chair in the far corner. She really needed some time to think things through.

Ron had given her a valentine. _Ron_ had given her a valentine. Did it mean something? She hoped it did. But no matter how she tried to avoid it, what Malfoy had said kept running through her mind, " love joke". Was it a joke? Was Ron just being a best friend and kidding with her like usual? Buying her one just so that she'd get embarrassed? That did sound like him…

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Ok, time to tell Harry." Harry said once Ron and him had gotten to the common room and found it empty.

"Alright, alright, but you can't tell anyone okay?" Ron said in a low voice while stepping closer to him.

"I promise mate, now who is it?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Hermione." Ron whispered in his ear.

"Dude, for real?! Finally! I knew you guys had a thing!" Harry yelled.

"Shh!!!" Ron quickly shushed him. "Like I said, you can't tell anyone! I'm not sure she even likes me back…"

"Oh, I'm sure she does, she'll be thrilled!" Harry reassured him.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Baby you're all that I want, when you're lying here in my arms, I find it hard to believe, we're in heaven!" A pack of seven students were singing as they're target as walking at a fast pace to their next class ignoring them as best as he could.

A little way down the hall he heard another group singing some other song. His classroom was only a few yards away, he could escape through that. When he reached the door, he found it locked.

"Dammit McGonagall!" He cursed as he kicked the door.

His singing posse was quickly on him and continued with their retched song. He looked to his right to see his friend was also in the same predicament. Draco ran to the door and yanked on the handles fiercely before trying several spells; none of them worked.

"Why wont this door bloody open Blais?!" He said in frustration as his chorus caught up with him too, and slightly winded by the look of it.

"I don't know!" He yelled back, equally as angry.

The two boys were stuck there fuming and slightly panicking as the class was beginning to assemble outside the door and everyone was watching them.

Draco ran his hand through his hair while Blais crossed his arms and leaned against the wall and watched it play out with a bored look on his face. He then took off his shoe and dumped out about a pound of confetti, while Draco started emptying his pockets out, taking handfuls out at a time.

Blais' song finally ended and a 5th year girl came up to him.

"This song was given to you by Phoebe Halls." She said while giving him some flowers and winking at him.

"I don't want those." He glared disdainfully at the flowers being thrust at him. "besides, I don't even know who the fuck this Phoebe person is!"

"TAKE THEM, OR I'LL BLOODY CHARM THEM TO YOUR FOREHEAD!" The girl screamed at him.

He was shocked by the sudden change in mood and snatched them from her with what little dignity he had left.

Draco laughed at him as he tried to stuff them into his bag.

"Dude, you're such an idiot! The girl that gave those to you _was_ Phoebe Halls!" Draco said still snickering.

"Oh shut up, and good, I'm glad she got some embarrassment out of this vocal torture." He said grumpily. "And would you shut them up already?!" He inclined to Draco's choir with this hand.

"Can't. If I could, I seriously would. These morons have been following me around all bloody day!" Draco replied, a little weary.

Just then Draco's group ended their serenade and the two boys sighed.

Draco's eyes widened as a boy came up to him with a box of chocolates _and_ a bouquet of flowers.

"This valentine has been given to you by Pansy Parkinson, WAIT! No! I mean no one! This was given to you completely anonymously! We have no idea who gave this to you! No idea at all!" He sputtered before thrusting the gifts into Draco's hands and running off as fast as possible before being yelled at to slow down by none other than Professor McGonagall.

When she opened the door, the boys quickly scrambled in, desperately trying to avoid any other chorus groups.

Blais and Draco sat next to each other in the back and Blais watched Draco open his backpack full of gifts and shove in the flowers and chocolates.

"Stop giving me that look Blais, or I swear I'll hex you into oblivion." Draco warned.

"What look? I just think it's funny, Pans-Pans has got a crush on you! Isn't that just adorable?" Blais mocked him.

"No."

"Aw, you like it."

"I defiantly don't."

"Ya, you do! I can see it!" Blais pretended to giggle like a little girl.

"You are an absolute moron."

"Aw, how sweet of you Drakey!"

Draco punched him hard in the arm, but Blais laughed it off, he couldn't resist a teasing Draco when such a perfect situation presented itself.

"Good evening class!" Professor McGonagall announced. "Please take out your books and turn to page 112."

The class went by like usual. They were learning how to transform a book into a coffee table and many were epically failing.

Crab had managed to create some kind of sculpture that would probably have been deemed 'modern art' in the muggle world. Goyle kept turning his into a cat, which was undoubtedly the only spell he was really good at.

Draco's was a table, but only a couple inches tall. Weasley could only manage to make a really big wooden book. Potter had successfully gotten something big with four legs, but it still had pages. Hermione, who was sitting at a different table, how odd, even had difficulties. Well, of coarse she'd gotten the table part alright, but she couldn't seem to get the title off the top of it.

When the bell finally rung, they all packed up, at a much slower pace. Not many were rushing to go out into the halls with "them" out there. A bunch of the girls practically bolted for the door however, no being able to wait to see if they'd gotten one.

As the two Slytherin boys crossed the threshold they immediately picked up their pace. They'd only gone about 20 meters when two groups turned a corner and found them.

"BAZOO!" The boy with the kazoo surprised them.

"Dammit! Not again!" Blais complained, and they slowed they're pace, knowing there was no way out of it now. They were doused in confetti once more as they bitterly walked along. As they were meandering along they saw a very uncomfortable Potter trying to explain to the group of 5th years before him that he really had to go to the bathroom and if they could wait a minuet that would be great. But they were screeching too loudly to hear him so he stood there torn between what to do. He eventually decided he could hold it for a few seconds and listened to them sing.

As the Slytherins passed, Potter caught their eyes and for the first time in history there was an exchange of understanding between them, before they turned the next corner.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**A/N: Hey I'm soooo sorry this took so long, I had a major writers cramp, but I was home sick today (fever, sore throat, the works) so I had plenty of time to think, and I've already started the next chapter so I'll be getting that to you soon. Very soon if I'm sick tomorrow too.**


	5. Dinner

Disclaimer:I don't own anything, do i really have to state it every chapter? except the plot.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Everyone was at their seats in the Great Hall for dinner except for Hermione who rushed in late and took her seat next to Ginny.

"Hey guys!" she greeted them all.

"Hey Hermione! Where have you been?" Harry asked.

"I wanted to run my bag to my room before lunch, it was getting awfully heavy and all" She explained as she reached for a roll.

"Oh and Ron, I got your valentine." She said so nonchalantly that Ron looked at her a little funny.

Harry smiled at Ron but then was confused when he saw his face. Hermione saw it too.

"You know, the singing ones?" She tried to explain.

"Oh, yeah, what'd you think of it?" He asked still giving her an interesting look.

"Well, it was embarrassing, but that was the point right?" She smiled at him and lightly laughed.

"Oh, right, just thought I'd embarrass you with one of those since I know how much you hate public attention. I would have given one to Harry, but I don't think everyone might have gotten it." Ron laughed a little.

Harry laughed but was giving Ron a "what on earth?" kind of look. Hermione didn't see it however since she was too busy eating; she only had a couple minuets left.

Ron met Harry's gaze and shook his head as if to say that now would not be the proper time to discuss it.

"So I heard that the 5th years ate lunch early so they could sing to others while they ate." Ginny started up with a smile.

"You've got to be bloody kidding me!" Harry said exasperatedly.

"What? I think they're cute!" Ginny retorted.

"Ya, adorable. See how much you like them after you've been chased by them all day." He muttered and quickly finished his food before confetti could be thrown into it.

"Oh, I guess I wouldn't know then, I haven't gotten one…" Ginny started ripping at her napkin distractedly.

"Really? You? I bet all the flocks of guys after you were just too shy to profess their undying love!" Harry dramatized, which made Ginny laugh.

"Ya, if by flocks you mean Gregory Snyder" Ginny said while crinkling her nose.

The four of them looked over at the Slytherin table to see a small, pasty boy with black greasy hair trading chocolate frog cards with his friends. Ron burst out laughing.

"Shut up Ron!" Ginny blushed while smacking him.

"BAZOO!"

The four of them were coated in little hearts.

"Hermione Granger!"

Hermione spun around in her seat. The 5th years had snuck up behind her and she hadn't even noticed. She looked past them and saw another group singing to an awe-struck 4th year Ravenclaw and a third group over by a Hufflepuff boy so she wasn't the complete center of attention which relieved her, but she was still curious as to who the sender was.

As the song began ("My Girl" by The Temptations) Ron silently fumed behind her. He pretended like he was amused but he had never been a good actor, and the physical state of his chicken was a dead give away to Harry. The chorus was too loud for a conversation at the moment so Harry just watched Ron maim his cutlet with his fork before turning back to the little presentation in front of them.

Ginny looked on with a hint of jealousy on her face, although she was truly happy for Hermione and even sympathized a little when she began to turn bright red at the mushy parts of the song. Eventually it stopped, but unfortunately for Hermione the other groups had ended a little while before hand, so all the eyes in the hall were on Hermione as a 5th year boy came up to her.

"This valentine was given to you by Blais Zabini!" He said with a wink and handed her a box of chocolates. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

He chorus group walked off to find someone else, but the rest of the room seemed to be lacking the ability to move. All eyes shifted to the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy was laughing his head off while Blais slowly turned his head toward him. Draco made a run for it but Blais was right on his heels with a look to kill. The two ran out of the room and everyone could hear Blais's scream of "I'LL BLOODY KILL YOU!" fade as the ran further away.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to her table.

"What idiots." She said as she threw the chocolates on the table.

Ginny could tell that Hermione was a dissapointed.

"Those bloody prats! I'll rip them to shreds if you want me to 'Mione, I swear I will." Ron fumed.

"Oh, no you don't have to, they were just being themselves, not much we can do about that…" She shook her head and looked disdainfully down at her meal which was 50% plastic now.

"BAZOO!"

Scratch that, 75% plastic.

"Ginny Weasley!"

Ginny nearly broke her neck, she whipped her head around so fast. The chorus began to sing another sappy love song that they didn't recognize. A blush crept across her face until she was completely red.

Ron looked over at Harry who seemed far from pleased, and it only got worse when Ginny started giggling a bit.

The song ended and Collin came up to Ginny.

"This valentine was given to you by Michael Sushchyk! Happy Valentines Day!"

The chorus left and Ginny turned back to the table with a shocked look mixed with a smile which is universal for _'HE likes ME?! OMG HE'S LIKE THE HOTTEST THING ALIVE! I CANT BELIEVE IT!!!!'_

She turned to Hermione and the girls squealed and clasped hands.

"You've got to be kidding." Harry said incredulously at them with a hint of anger.

"What?" Ginny asked, still hyped up but quickly being brought back by his sternness.

"You can't seriously be interested in _him_!" He gestured toward the gorgeousness at the Ravenclaw table.

"Why not?" She smiled while checking Michael out.

"He's a total douche! Besides, he doesn't like YOU, he only likes what you LOOK like." Harry argued, desperately trying to get through to Ginny.

"Well fine, but he still looks like he'd be some fun to mess around with. I mean seriously, just look at him. Besides it's rumored that he has a _six pack_, and a very large…shoe size." Ginny said with a wink at Hermione.

"Aw Ginny! Really?! Did I need that mental image?!" Ron complained and shuttered with disgust.

"Haha sorry Ronald, I'll try and keep it PG for you." She laughed before getting up from the table and walking back to the common room.

The three left at the table watched as Michael also left the Great Hall with a devilish smirk on his face.

Hermione and Ron simultaneously looked at Harry who was having the internal struggle of the century. He looked like he had half a mind to beat the living daylights out of that punk, but then again, he knew Ginny would hate him for it.

"I've learned to just let her do whatever, you can't watch over her all the time, especially if she goes looking for trouble. If that helps at all." Ron gave Harry a sympathetic look before clapping him on the back. "Come on mate, let's get out of here. How's a little bit of Quidditch sound to you?"

"Ya, that sounds good." Harry mumbled almost inaudibly.

"Want to come Hermione? We wont make you get on a broom or anything, but you could be our ref." Ron offered.

"Actually, I just got the new book I ordered today and I'm dying to start it. Maybe another time?"

"Ya sure, we'll meet up with you later." Ron said as he started to get up, pulling Harry up with him. Hermione also rose and left with them before splitting ways at the staircase.

Hermione walked along the corridor admiring the artwork for a while before checking her watch; 7:00. She walked further still and gazed out a window. It was getting fairly dark which was making her feel much more tired then she had felt before. The night air felt cool on her face and brought the relaxing smell of nature into the castle. She looked out at the dark blue lake and wondered for the millionth time what might be in it.

"Granger!"

She turned around to see who it was. Malfoy.

He slowed his pace as he walked up to her. As much as she rearranged her face into a glare she couldn't stop the girl in her from noticing how messy his hair was as it delicately framed his eyes.

"What do you want?" she snarled.

"Well, that wasn't exactly a friendly hello." Malfoy smirked

"I realize"

"As much as it thrills me to stop by for a chat, I came for a reason. Basically to make sure your head didn't get any bigger then it already is. I know that it fills your heart with joy to get a cute little love song, but there was absolutely no meaning behind it whatsoever. Let's be serious now, did you really think anyone would like _you_?" He grinned at his insult, just to irritate her even more.

"Really Malfoy? You're trying to insult me by saying _Zabini_ doesn't like me? I'd find it more insulting if he _did_ fancy me." She shot back while crossing her arms in a dignified manner.

"Swinging the other way, are we Granger?"

"Don't be ridiculous, you know I was with Krum a little while ago."

"Well excuse me if I don't find an interest in your love life."

"Apparently you do seeing as you took the time to find me and discuss a valentine I got."

"You really think I'm here because I'm interested? I'm only here because Blais threatened to set Pansy on me if I didn't come and make sure you had your facts straight"

"Lucky for you, I already had them straight. I guess your presence is no longer needed."

"Brilliant, I was starting to worry that your filth would rub off on me if I didn't leave soon."

"Too late for that. Oh wait, you were already like that before you came, what happened ferret? Ran out of hair gel?"

"No as a matter of fact, it's a new thing I'm trying"

"Ha, why? So you don't look like your father's clone?"

"Don't talk about my father Mudblood!"

"I can talk about whoever I want Malfoy! Besides I think your just mad because I'm right."

"Shut up!"

"Ooo soar spot."

"I'm warning you Granger, I'll mess you up."

"I'd love to see you try."

They whipped out their wands and simultaneously waited for the other to attack.

"_Stupify!_"

Hermione ducked and the spell singed the end of a lock as it passed by.

"_Expelliarmus!_" She attacked back.

He blocked it and sent a slew curses flying her way. She did her best to block them and snuck in a "_Petrificus totalis!_" which hit him on the leg and froze him half-way through saying a curse.

"You were saying?" She mocked as she stowed away her wand and brought herself face to face with him.

She turned around and laughed to herself in satisfaction before turning back to him.

"So what now? Should I let you go? Should I turn you into a ferret once more? That form really seemed to fit you well." She smiled at the endless possibilities. "No, maybe I should just leave you here. I'm sure some bloke might wander by…tomorrow…"

Suddenly the sound of high heeled shoes was heard from the end on the hall.

"Dammit" Hermione cursed under her breath as she snapped her head in the direction of the on comer. Only teachers wore shoes that loud.

Hermione looked around wildly for some place to hide Malfoy but was out of luck.

"_Levicorpus!_" She whispered and levitated Draco to the ceiling so that the cover of darkness hid him. She then pretended like she was slowly walking in the direction of the teacher, admiring the artwork again.

"Good evening Miss Granger." Mrs. McGonagall nodded curtly.

"Good evening Professor" Hermione replied politely.

Mrs. McGonagall continued on down the corridor and turned right at the end.

Hermione let out a breath.

"That was close."

(Draco's POV)

I heard the Professor's steps dim and any hope of being saved was lost.

"That was close." The idiot girl whispered below.

She began to bring me back to the ground and my eyes adjusted to the light once more. My face is really starting to hurt from the weird yelling position it's in.

"Maybe I'll just let you go…" She pondered next to me.

I've never heard a better idea come from the girl's mouth. Once she lets me go, I'll kill her. No even kidding, I'll blast the bloody bitch from here to china.

"Oh, wait" She comes over and takes my bloody wand. Ok, now I'm pissed.

"You're probably still angry and we wouldn't want anyone to go seeking revenge now would we" She said in a baby voice with a little pout. I hate her. So much.

She steps back a little and waves her wand, muttering the counter-curse.

My limbs relax and I melt to the floor from the sudden looseness. I quickly stand up and face her defiantly.

"Give me my wand."

"Hmm…." She taps the wand to her cheek, pretending to think. "No."

"Granger…" I warn darkly. I've gotten quite good at that actually. Having a father that addresses you like that all the time pays off I guess.

"Malfoy."

"Your level of annoyance would be intolerable even to Dumbledore, how on earth do you

have any friends?" I massaged my temples, I was starting to get a headache. I hate Blais too. He's the whole reason I'm here. Can't take a joke, bloody prat.

"Now now, Malfoy, are insults really going to help you in this situation?" she taunted, swinging my wand in her fingers.

I rolled my eyes, this was so 3rd year maturity.

"Can I have my wand back, _please._" I'm really starting to get annoyed, this is the stupidest thing ever. Ever.

"I think I'll make you do something for it instead." She smirked.

"You've got to be kidding me right now." I said exasperatedly.

"Nope, now let's think, what would you never do…" She tapped my wand on her cheek again. I'm going to have to bloody sanitize it later.

"Stop doing that to my wand! It's bad enough that you're touching it!" I snarl. She's riding on my last nerve here. I hate her so much. You don't even know.

"Compliment me."

"Excuse me?" I gasped. She did not just say that.

"Compliment me and I'll give you your wand back. BUT you have to mean it." She smiled devilishly.

She knew she had me, especially at the meaning it part. I could have probably been able to muster up the gusto to tell her her shirt looked nice or something but honestly, it's cheap and worn-out.

"I hate you." I said. This was just not right.

I was trying to devise some way to jump her and get my wand back but she had her wand pointed at me and I knew that she'd petrify me before I even stepped forward.

"Try again." She smiled, still amused. This was torture.

I started looking her over in an attempt to find some decent thing about her. Its funny, I've never really looked at her before, it was weird. She was actually kind of attractive. Not that I'd ever say that! But the evidence was still there. She had great legs and a great ass, her breasts weren't that big but that's a plus since huge ones are sloppy. Her hair was in a half-up half-down thing which is something I usually don't notice but it looked nice. I liked the way it formed her face and around her eyes, which I swear were miles deep.

I realized that I'd actually have to pick one of these things to say out loud to her since I'm really sick and tired of pointless negotiation. I ran my hand through my now messy hair and made a mental note to gel it tomorrow. I blinked a couple times and tried to picture her as the girl I had always seen her as, but now that I've really taken a look, it was harder.

"Well?" She asked expectantly.

"Uh, well…yourhairlooksnicetoday." I slurred. Composure, composure. "Can I have my wand back now?".

"Why, thank you Malfoy, and yes you may." She bent down and rolled my wand down the hallway in the opposite direction.

I went to pick it up and turned back to give her a sarcastic "_thank you_', but she was gone.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

A/N: Review! i want to know if you like it! Oh and just a cool little fact, the character of michael is actually based off my current boyfriend.


	6. Portrait Meeting

**A/N: So I know right about now you all probably HATE my guts since I haven't posted anything for 2 months now, so I'm hoping that a new chapter will compensate. And don't worry, I'll be updating much more pretty soon since school is almost over, and I'm going to France so I'll hopefully get an awesome inspiration!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, way to rub it in Fanfiction.**

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

NOTE: I encourage you to re-read the last chapter if it's been a while since this one starts right where it left off.

The Slytherin looked around with a confused expression before slowly starting off toward his common room. He rounded the corner at the end of the hall and was out of sight.

"Pst!"

...

"PST!"

...

"Edna!"

"Oh! Sorry Rosaria! What is it dear?" said a portrait of an elderly English gentlewoman. She wore a puffy lace dress with intricate gold designs that matched the elegant tapestries behind her. Her gray hair was short and stylishly curled towards her head which gave her a pleasant grandmotherly look.

"Did you just see that?!" replied the canvas across from Edna in which there was a young girl of 19 sitting on an ocean pier. The sun was chronically half-set creating a luminescent path across the water that connected the fiery semi-circle to the wooden dock.

"Those two students?" Edna gestured to the hallway between them.

"Ya! They seem perfect, don't they?" Rosaria brightened.

"Oh, er, I wouldn't exactly say that now, they seemed a little hostile to me." Edna frowned and took sip of her tea.

"Exactly! They disliked each other, yet I sensed a hint of flirtation" Rosaria said with a small smile.

Edna laughed merrily and shook her head, stirring more cream into her teacup.

"What?"

"Your young mind amuses me sometimes dear." Edna smiled warmly.

"I still don't understand." Rosaria furrowed her brow.

"He's a Slytherin, she's a Gryffindor, there's no way they could ever like each other. Not even just as a friend, the two houses have always been set against each other. Always have, always will. It's just the way it goes."

"Who put them in those houses?"

"The Sorting Hat, it places you in one of the four houses when you first come to Hogwarts. I forgot that you arrived in December last year. I'll take you down to see it next time."

"That's ridiculous. They hate each other because a hat says they're different?"

"No, no, no darling, they hate each other because they ARE different. The hat just helped them realize that."

"That's completely absurd; I bet they would like each other if they got to know one another instead of just generalizing entire groups of people like that!" Rosaria said getting to her feet.

"Goodness, what do you mean?" Edna baffled.

"I'm going to nominate them for the COTY at tonight's meeting." Rosaria announced.

"Come, come child, let's not do something drastic. You know that that will never fly with the counsel." Edna reasoned but Rosaria was deaf to her wisdom. "Why don't you nominate that young couple that was down here a little while ago? The Weasley girl and the Sushchyk boy. They seemed rather fond of each other."

"What fun would that be? It'd take all of two second to get them together." The girl pouted a little.

The old woman sighed.

"Alright, do what you wish."

Rosaria smiled widely and clapped her hands together.

"Oh this is going to be great! Come on let's go! We don't want to be late!"

Edna smiled adoringly at her as she walked through the portraits parallel to Rosaria, at a much slower rate due to her age and apparel.

Walking from portrait to portrait was like walking through a hallway made of windows, in which every other window was closed so that there was darkness between the scenes, yet it wasn't dark enough that you couldn't see the next room over. So if you looked down a line of pictures, you could see all of them, but they would be separated by shaded sections.

Many of the frames were empty, most likely because they'd already headed down to the meeting. This year's president was Sir Cadogan, god only knows how, so the meetings were held in his corridor which was near the astronomy tower.

Rosaria began to quicken her pace, fearing that she wouldn't be able to get a good seat. Edna kept her same steady pace so that she wouldn't trip over her gown.

Dumbledore knew of these Portrait Meetings and super sized a large frame on the wall. The frame was usually a picture of a court room or an assembly hall so that everyone would be able to sit comfortably. This frame looked like it came from a wedding picture inside a large church but the chairs were arranged in a semi-circle facing a small row of chairs.

When Rosaria arrived, she scanned the crowd for her friend Adele (Ah-Dell). She lifted herself up on her tip-toes so that she would have a slightly better view. She saw a hand flailing in the air that caught her attention, and she looked over to see Adele had saved a seat for her in the front row.

"Perfect!" Rosaria said quietly to herself as she rushed over to her friend.

"Hey!" Adele greeted her.

"Hey! How're you?"

"Great, I can't wait to find out who the COTY is going to be! I love how we do this! Gives us something to do, you know?"

"Ya! And I know the perfect candidates for this year." Rosaria smirked.

"Who?"

"You'll have to wait and see like everyone else!"

"Rosaria!" Adele complained.

"Shh! The counsel is arriving!" Rosaria shushed her as they looked toward the left side of the frame.

The counsel, consisting of 8 people plus the president, who always came to the gatherings last to signify that the meeting had officially begun. The eight counsel members included 2 portraits from each house, so that they would all have equal representation. They all walked to the front of the room and took their seats. After a couple moments Sir Cadogan came galloping in on his little fat pony. He jumped off the small horse and used his enormous sword as a pole vault to land on his throne, which made an awful clanking noise. He then slammed his large sword onto the table in front of him.

"Quiet! You scurvy braggarts!" He yelled to the group and immediately they quieted down.

Sir Cadogan cleared his throat.

"As you all know we're here for our annual Valentine's Day meeting to discuss this year's Couple Of The Year. I presume that most of you already have an idea of who you would like to nominate, so if you do, please create a line at the front of the room and write down your suggestion on the parchment in front of our secretary, Mrs. Gail." He said in a gruff voice before taking his seat again.

"That's my cue." Rosaria whispered to Adele before joining the line of about 50 other people in front of Mrs. Gail.

Once everyone had written down their name and their suggestion Mrs. Gail read through the list and crossed out any repeated nominations. When she was done she had a list of 7 couples:

Seamus Finnegan & Evelyn Veirnez

Blake Rossi & Emily Hills

Micheal Sushchyk & Ginny Weasley

Daniel Joo & Cho Chang

Ronald Weasley & Lavender Brown

Scott Wilder & Rebecca Shall

Draco Malfoy & Hermione Granger

She'd done several double takes with the last one, making absolutely sure that she'd read it right, she almost didn't put it on the list thinking it was a gag.

She handed the list to Sir Cadogan who stood and tapped his sword on the table again.

"Alright, would the people who wrote down Seamus Finnegan and Evelyn Veirnez please come up and explain to everyone why they believe that these two students should be the Couple Of The Year." He recited the usual words and five people rose from their seats and made their way to the front of the room.

It went on like this for the first 6. Each portrait made their own little speech and told stories about how they'd seen them in the halls together or how the girl was gushing about him to her friends or how cute they would look together. Rosaria began to get bored of the repetition, and so was Sir Cadogan by the slouched position he was in.

As the group for Scott Wilder and Rebecca Shall ended and began to go back to their seats a Rosaria got a sudden burst of butterflies in her stomach. This had been happening every time a group ended, knowing that she might be next. But this time there was only one couple left, which meant it was defiantly hers. Adele smiled at her since she was about to find out who Rosaria had picked.

"Would the people who wrote down Draco Malfoy and… Hermione Granger please come up and explain to everyone why they believe that these two students should be the Couple Of The Year" Sir Cadogan said with slight disbelief.

The crowd gasped and then fell silent, looking around to find the person who had submitted the atrocity. Edna put her head in her hand as she shook it in dismay. Rosaria stood up boldly as Adele gaped like a fish beside her.

She made her way up to the front of the room alone, since she was the only one who had suggested them.

"Hi everyone, I know you're surprised that I would pick these students but I assure you, that they are the one's we're looking for." She began, looking out across the doubtful audience.

"This afternoon Draco played a joke on Hermione. He sent a valentine to her under his best friend Blais' name. When Blais got angry he mad Draco go set things straight with Hermione to make sure she didn't think Blais really liked her. They had this conversation right in front of my frame in which eventually the two of them got into a duel and Hermione petrified Draco. While he was frozen she took his wand before undoing the spell. In order to get his wand, she said, he had to compliment her, and mean it. He didn't notice but she cast a spell on him that would make him turn purple if he lied so when he told her that her hair looked nice and kept his pale complexion, she knew he was telling the truth. So that's why-"

"So you're telling me that you think they like each other because he complimented her hair?" Sir Cadogan interrupted.

"I'm saying that they have potential." Rosaria said boldly yet respectfully.

"I assume you realize what houses these individuals are from, no?" He drawled while propping his elbows on the table.

"Yes, I realize. I just think that this year we should take on a challenge. All the other couples seem to already fancy each other so it's not like we're making much of a difference to them. Unless, of course, you don't think you'd be able to handle such a difficult task. " Rosaria said speaking directly to him while still being loud enough for the audience to hear.

Sir Cadogan scoffed loudly and shook his head, a scowl overtaking his face. You could practically see the defiance rising in him as he stood up with his shoulders back.

"Sir Cadogan can take on any challenge! I'm not afraid of anything! Just say the word and Sir Cadogan is there! I can take anything that's dished out! The bloody scoundrels won't even know what hit them! Why I-!" Sir Cadogan continued to yell while thrusting his sword into the air. He continued until he was red in the face and then turned back to Rosaria as if she were going to doubt his abilities.

Rosaria then addressed the crowd.

"Seems like our President is brave enough, are any of you?" She challenged them.

All the knights in the back clanked their armor in approval. The enthusiasm snowballed as eventually the entire crowd was on its feet clapping. Rosaria beamed at them all before saying a quick "that is all" to the counsel as she went back to her seat.

"Brilliant idea!" Adele squeaked when she got to her.

"Thanks!" Rosaria smiled back. "I hope people go with that one."

"Are you kidding? Of coarse they will! It's the only couple that got a standing ovation."

"I hope so, let's see how it goes." Rosaria said crossing her fingers for good luck.

Once the crowd calmed down and took their seats again Mrs. Gail cleared her throat and stood up.

"All in favor of having this years COTY be Seamus Finnegan and Evelyn Veirnez please rise." She spoke loudly to the audience.

No body moved.

"All in favor of having this years COTY be Blake Rossi and Emily Hills please rise."

Once again nobody moved.

It proceeded this way for the next four couples until they came to the last one.

"All in favor of having this years COTY be Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger please rise."

With a thunderous scraping of chairs being pushed back, the entire population rose, including the counsel.

"It's unanimous!" Mrs. Gail yelled enthusiastically over the crowd as they cheered in triumph.

"The next meeting will be held tomorrow to work out strategical plans, but for now, meeting adjourned." Sir Cadogan's voice boomed out over the noise and people began to exit the frame and return to their own, patting Rosaria on the back as they went.

"Great idea Rosaria!"

"Good call on that one!"

"Brilliant thinking!"

"So glad you're at Hogwarts!"

"Visit me sometime" a cute farmer boy said with a wink.

"what would we do with out you?!"

"Jolly good!"

"See you later Rosaria! And fabulous idea!" Adele bid adieu as she also left.

Once everyone had given Rosaria their compliments as they passed Rosaria looked out across the almost empty frame to find Edna. She was still seated where she'd been the whole time, patiently waiting for Rosaria's availability.

"They liked it!" Rosaria skipped over to Edna in her excitement.

"Well goodness I'd say they did!" She smiled up at the girl. "And I apologize for being so narrow minded about the matter, you certainly proved me wrong!"

Rosaria laughed and helped the elderly woman to her feet.

"No problem, you're old, you can't help it." Rosaria teased and Edna made a mock surprised look.

"Oh you kidder! Come now, let's make our way back to our frames." Edna said light-heartedly.

They walked through the hallways for a while until they had to split in order to be on the correct wall their frame was on. They settled down in their usual sleeping spot, slightly slumped in her elegant chair for Edna and sprawled across the pier for Rosaria.

"Good night Edna." Rosaria called over to her.

"Good night dear." Edna responded softly, and the two of them drifted off to sleep.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**A/N: Reviews would rock right now! Any advice, comments, how you're liking/hating it, egregious spelling mistakes, what you want more of, ect.**


	7. Student Study Day

**A/N: You guys should be proud, I updated within 5 days! Yay!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or all associated characters and settings, only the plot.

… … …. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Hermione woke up at 7 because her mental clock was so accustomed to school hours. It was a pity that she couldn't even sleep in on the weekend. She attempted to go back to sleep by lying there with her eyes closed, but it was no use. The brightness of the room wouldn't allow her to.

She threw her covers aside and stretched on her way out of bed. She realized her hair was still wet from when she had taken a shower last night and she dried it off with a spell and then used another to curl it so that it wasn't a complete mess.

She was still wearing the shorts and t-shirt she wore to bed as she made her way down to the common room with a book in her hand. She jumped onto the couch in a prostrate position, taking up the entire couch, before propping her head up with one hand and opening her book with the other.

She had read through six pages when she heard someone whispering. She glanced around the common room, but no one was there. Assuming she imagined it, she went back to reading, but soon after she did she heard it again. She glanced above the fire place and saw that the usual painting of a noble Griffindor knight (Cornelius Marcus) was accompanied by a knight from Slytherin. She wouldn't have paid much attention to this despite the fact that they were both looking at her with wide eyes, like they were afraid she would look at them and catch them looking at her; which she did.

The two knights quickly looked away whistling as though they weren't looking at her or talking to each other. Hermione just turned back to her book with a confused look. Almost immediately the two knights started talking again.

Frustrated, she closed her book and made her way to the library in search of some quiet.

As she walked down the hall, the newly awakened portraits started talking to each other. They tried to be subtle, but Hermione was very good at picking things like that up. She watched as their eyes widened when she looked at them or how they would casually sneak a glance at her from the corners of their eyes.

Once at the library, she found another couch to plop herself down onto. She propped her head up and opened her book, but didn't read. She was still wondering what could be going on with the paintings, and the whispers she heard from the ones in the library weren't helping.

She turned over on the couch into half-way sitting position using her elbows to look at the picture on the wall adjacent to her. In it there was a young girl only 2 or 3 years older than herself sitting on her living room floor petting a kitten. She had on a nice blue, green, and yellow print summer dress that went perfectly with her tan, Mediterranean complexion and dark brown hair. She looked up at Hermione and then shyly back at her kitten when she noticed Hermione looking at her.

Hermione looked at the plague under the picture which told her the portraits name was Adele.

"Hello Adele." Hermione greeted her.

The girl looked up in shock and tucked her hair behind her ear before tentatively saying "Hi." back.

"I have a question for you." Hermione said as she pulled herself into a complete sitting position.

"Er, ok." Adele said nervously.

"What's going on with the portraits today?" Hermione asked casually.

"Oh, er," Adele put her hand over her eyes as if thinking. "Oh yes! I'd forgotten!" She said taking her hand away and looking back at Hermione. "It's this portrait thing we do every year. It's Student Study Day, where we all actually pay attention to the inhabitants of this school, just to become familiar with them and all. I mean, we see you everyday, we might as well learn your names, right?"

"Oh, ok, I was getting really freaked out, all the ones I passed started staring and whispering." Hermione laughed.

"Oh yes, sorry about that, but don't worry, you're not the only one, it's not like we're all focused on you or anything." Adele laughed, a little forcefully.

"Ya, ok thanks! And I'm Hermione Granger by the way. It's nice meeting you."

"You too, it's a pleasure."

Their conversation ended and Hermione went back to reading her book while Adele searched the drawers of a cabinet for her cat brush.

About half an hour had passed and Hermione was almost done with her book, only 15 pages left (she'd been half-way through to begin with).

"I know I'm bloody gorgeous and all but if you all don't stop fucking staring I'm going to turn you into a tapestry!"

Everyone knew that the worst thing you could call a painting was a tapestry. As if saying they were such a measly decoration that a simple piece of fabric could easily replace them.

"Well I say!" An old grumpy man said from his frame.

"Shut it Grandpa!" The voice retaliated back.

"You're not something special Malfoy, they do it to everyone." Hermione said without looking up from her book. She could tell that Adele was watching Draco diligently in her peripheral vision.

"What would you know Granger!" He snarled at her. He was not in the best of moods today and didn't feel like putting up with Granger's sass.

"More than you apparently." She said glancing at him slyly from the corner of her eye.

"Just because my life goal isn't to be a walking library, doesn't mean I'm an idiot. As I recall, I beat you on the last Transfiguration test we had." He snapped back.

That got her attention. She spun around to face him.

"Ya, by one point!"

"Jelious?" he smirked.

"You'd like that wouldn't you."

"Immensely."

The two stared at each other, Hermione mock glaring while Draco smirked at her. The silence was only broken by a small "She's right though, it really is Student Study Day."

Draco looked around to try and find the source while Hermione looked right up at Adele.

"I beg your pardon?" Draco sneered at her.

"It's where we observe the students for a day to learn about them, and by 'we' I mean the portraits." Adele said in a small voice, obviously intimidated by Draco.

"Wow, that has to be the creepiest thing I've heard all day." Draco replied dead-pan.

Adele was taken aback and didn't quite know what to say.

Draco looked around to see all the portraits had a fixed gaze on him.

"Ok fine, you want to hear about me?!" He brought his hands above his head to gesture to all of them before slapping them on his sides and putting them in his pockets. "I'm Draco Malfoy of Slytherin, I hate everything, especially all of you. I'm a top student, better than Granger, I-"

"I beg to differ!" Hermione cut him off.

Draco smirked at her in a teasing way, letting her know he had wanted that reaction from her, then continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"I am seeker for the Slytherin team and about 10 times better at it than Potter, (Hermione scoffs) oh and as you can probably tell, I'm down-right irresistible. Even Granger agrees." Draco finished and dramatically bowed to his "audience".

"I- what? No- I- say-don't!" Hermione sputtered.

"And that is proof." He snapped and pointed his fingers at her as he winked.

He turned and walked away leaving Hermione to call after him. ("I DO NOT!")

She scowled as she watched his cloak swish around the corner.

"He is rather cute, isn't he?" Adele giggled.

"Haha ya." Hermione said still staring. "OH blek no! Not Malfoy! Gross! I was talking about…" she glances around the room, "the kid in that picture, the farmer, he's a cutie." Hermione pointed to the brown-haired boy with freckles and blue jean overalls which somehow, he made look sexy.

Adele blushed as the boy looked over and smiled. She turned her head away and didn't comment on what Hermione had said.

"Well I'm hungry, I think I'll go get some breakfast now. Bye Adele!" Hermione said as she got up to leave.

"Bye Hermione!"

When Hermione had left the farmer boy called over to Adele, "Student Study Day? Nice cover up."

"Haha thanks Joey, it was the first thing I came up with, we're going to have to tell people not to be so obvious, it's giving us away!" Adele bit her lip.

"Ya, let's go talk to Rosaria!" Joey said excitedly.

"Oh, uh, sure, she'd probably want to hear about what went on here."

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ... … … … … …

As Hermione entered the common room she noticed Ron and Harry were already dressed, though a little disheveled, and sitting in some arm chairs.

"There you are! We just sent Ginny up to look for you!" Ron exclaimed more to her legs then her. Her shorts weren't exactly school appropriate and Ron wasn't missing the chance to soak it all in.

'Oh, ok sorry guys, let me get changed and I'll be right back!" She said as she started walking to the girl's dormitories.

"What's wrong with what you're wearing?" Ron asked with a goofy smile.

Hermione just looked at him and went to get dressed.

Harry shook his head. "Wow, no wonder your first girlfriend was _Lavender_ mate."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron turned to him.

"Well, she's kind of easy, and she's got some nice legs, not to mention her ass, sounds like your perfect combination." Harry said leaning back.

"You know me so well." Ron grinned.

"That's why I don't think you should go after Hermione." Harry stated, getting serious.

"Why not? She got it going on." Ron defended.

"Well, ya." Harry admitted, "But she's not easy, and the type of relationship you're looking for is going to murder all of our friendships." Harry said solemnly.

"Don't be such a downer Harry, I bet it could work, how about we see how it goes? Besides, I think she's really into me."

… … … … … … ... … … … … … … … ... … … … … … … … … … …

"Hey babe." Michael said in a cool nonchalant way as he slid his arm around my waist.

"Hey Mike!" I smiled up at him as we started to walk down to breakfast.

I was kind of confused where we stood now. We'd had a great time last night messing around, nothing serious though. I wasn't sure if all this meant we were together now. I decided to ask.

"So…are we like…a couple now?" I asked looking up at him.

"Well ya, of coarse we are!" He said back as if it were the simplest thing. And maybe it is.

"Oh, good!"

"So did you have fun last night?" He grinned down at me.

"Ya of coarse!" I replied as I felt his hand slide further down my waist.

"Wanna get together again tonight? My common room? 8 o-clock?" he raised his eyebrows at me and his hand slid still further down so it was practically on my ass. Which was kind of okay by me.

"Sounds good!"

"Awesome." He turned to face me, "I'll see you later Ginny, kay?" He put both his hands on my ass as he leaned down and kissed me. It wasn't a passionate one, very eager actually. But he was hott, what does it matter? I still can't believe that _he_ likes _me_. Wow this is great!

Then we walked into the Great Hall and went to our separate tables.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

**A/N: Well? Well? How'd you like it??**


End file.
